HD Audio and 3D HTPC?

Nameless_87

Nameless_87

Nameless_87

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865
Hi all,

I decided to build an HTPC some months ago... however I am still unsure about some things...

First things first.... this is the equipment I am buying for my Home cinema:

Synology DS1511+ NAS with 5x 3TB Hitachi Deskstar 7k3000
Samsung D8000 plasma
Pioneer SC-LX83 AVR
MA RX6 AV12 Speaker Package

Now for the HTPC... Basically the things I am almost sure of are the following...

Antec Fusion Remote Black HTPC Case
4GB RAM
Seasonic PSU (They are really quiet)
120GB SSD (Thinking of OCZ Vertex 3 or 2E)
AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 microATX Motherboard

HD Audio
However I do want HD Audio (DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby TrueHD).
So for that I think I would need a Sound Card, correct?
I was thinking of the Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD or the Asus HDAV 1.3 Deluxe. Are these any good and will they deliver the HD Audio I want? Are there other options?

3D
I also want to be able to view real 3D TV. What Graphics Card will help me achieve this? I got no preference of NVIDIA vs ATI, however I think NVIDIA are better for 3D?

Please Note: All the above HTPC components can be changed... I am just giving a spec so you can suggest the best solution or spec me a better one that gives me what I need :D

Connectivity
Connectivity wise I was thinking about HDMI from GFX to HDMI In of Sound Card and HDMI Out of sound card to the AVR. The AVR will then be connected to the TV.

I will be streaming movies, that's why I went for an SSD as I don't need storage on the HTPC but fast read and right speeds and gigabit internet which I already have.

Any opinions please?

Thanks :)
 
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You can only get DTS-HD and DDHD via HDMI 1.3 interface. 3D video signal only via HDMI 1.4 interface. I was facing the same problem not long ago and discovered that the latest nvidia graphics cards support both, high-bitrate audio and 3D HD signals.

I bought Palit GTX 460 2GB for £150. Got it connected via 10 meter HDMI cable, nothing special, just a normal HDMI cable and all HD audio and video along with the 3D works 100% over 10m cable!
 
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Nvidia have been dealing with 3D subject for quite a while now. Ati is just starting the 3D subject.

Nvidia has a great support relating to 3D and HD audio. They worked with CyberLink and ArcSoft to make it fully compatible BluRay software that works with new GTX cards. Avoid 266.58 nvidia drivers. Install 260.99 or wait for soething newer than 266.58.
 
Thanks for the reply.

So if I buy a GTX 460 or similar I will get full 3D and 192KHz Audio not downsampled? meaning Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA?

And there is no need for a sound card?

Thanks
 
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I think the GTXs only started supporting bitstreaming over HDMI from 460 and above? To get DTS-HD from a 260 you'd have to use the optical from a separate sound card *I think*.

Pretty much all >5xxx ATi cards support it.
 
Robbie G said:
I think the GTXs only started supporting bitstreaming over HDMI from 460 and above? To get DTS-HD from a 260 you'd have to use the optical from a separate sound card *I think*.

Pretty much all >5xxx ATi cards support it.
Click to expand...

You're right about the nvidia series. HD audio is only supported via GTX 400 series and above, again a DTS-HD MA or Dolby Digital TrueHD can only be sent through a HDMI 1.3 (and above) interface.

You can only send up to ac3 and DTS via optical or spdif cable.

Trust me on this. I was dealing with it in the past month or two. Ended up with yamaha rx-v467 with HDMI 1.4 and a GTX 460. Read more about HDMI on wiki, very helpful.
 
Oh and I would avoid ati cards for the tine being. Nvidia knows what they're doing regarding the 3D, audio and finally the compability of the software with the hardware.
 
ATI 5850 will support HD audio, no mention of DTS Master Audio though.

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I meant the GTX 460 sorry for the mistype :)

So if I buy a GTX460 I would have 3D and DTS HAD MA and True HD?

So I don't need a sound card? Or will a sound card like the HDAV 1.3 deluxe still give better audio?

Thanks
 
I think you're better off with the hdmi in your GTX. You don't want too many cables.
I can tell you that dts-hd is brilliant. I can hear the difference.
 
Nick1881 said:
ATI 5850 will support HD audio, no mention of DTS Master Audio though.

4qlgqt.png
Click to expand...

It does say DTS-HD (Master Audio) and Dolbu TrueHD so you're fine regarding the sound, not too sure about the 3D. Also, 3D games and 3D movies are two different subjects.
Don't really care about 3D games at the moment, since you have to have a really powerful PC to run games in decent quality in 3D.

Regarding the 3D Vision dig through this website http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/3d-vision-surround-technology-uk.html
They listed all devices currently available on the market that ARE compatible with 3D vision cards. My TV and Aplifier are on the list.
All works very well.

It just seems that I can't use the HDMI audio on its own, without video. I mean when my TV is inactive in windows, say I'm just using my PC monitor, the HDMI audio is turned off. Only when I switch or extend to a TV I can use HDMI audio. For that reason, since I don't need video and if I just want to listen to some music I still use SPDIF output, without activating my TV in windows settings (it uses more resources hence using more electricity) :P
 
Just so you know, I was only able to play DTS-HD or DolbyTrueHD via CyberLink PowerDVD 10 Mark II OR AcrSoft TotalMedia Theater 5. There is no open source codecs for these audio formats. Even a simple DTS has to be converted to AC3 on the fly using "open source" drivers.
 
zYx said:
Just so you know, I was only able to play DTS-HD or DolbyTrueHD via CyberLink PowerDVD 10 Mark II OR AcrSoft TotalMedia Theater 5. There is no open source codecs for these audio formats. Even a simple DTS has to be converted to AC3 on the fly using "open source" drivers.
Click to expand...

OP's Pioneer can handle the decoding, hence him wanting to bit stream the sound to the AV receiver. No need for software decoding on the PC surely.

Regarding your HDMI audio / video problem when going to the PC monitor, couldn't you use an HDMI splitter from your amp?
 
Robbie G said:
OP's Pioneer can handle the decoding, hence him wanting to bit stream the sound to the AV receiver. No need for software decoding on the PC surely.

Regarding your HDMI audio / video problem when going to the PC monitor, couldn't you use an HDMI splitter from your amp?
Click to expand...

What do you mean exactly?
 
me personaly,a gtx460 would be a waste as all you need for bluray/3d/hd audio is etheir the gtx440 or gtx450 which are a lot cheaper and will do the job,infact i think the gtx430 which is only £40 will pass hd audio/3d is up to the job aswell,have a look about first before you commit yourself
 
If I get a GTX 460... is this good?

I chose this because I think is the most silent among the others. Is this correct?

Also if someone can answer me if this is good for the audio or if the HDAV 1.3 Deluxe will deliver something better? If the HDAV delivers something even slightly better than I will get it as with the speakers and AVR I am getting, I want the best possible 1080p picture and True HD sound.

Thanks
 
easyrider said:
I wouldn't be getting a Nvidia card for passing HD audio

5 series ATI all the way.
Click to expand...

But I need 3D which only Nvidia will supply if I understood correctly...

I was originally getting the ATI 5450... however no 3D and HD Audio would be downsampled, unlike the HDAV 1.3 Deluxe which will get 192 Khz without downsampling.

So maybe a combination of GTX460 for 3D and 1080p and HDAV 1.3 Deluxe for HD Audio would be the best solution?

Thanks
 
zYx said:
Just so you know, I was only able to play DTS-HD or DolbyTrueHD via CyberLink PowerDVD 10 Mark II OR AcrSoft TotalMedia Theater 5. There is no open source codecs for these audio formats. Even a simple DTS has to be converted to AC3 on the fly using "open source" drivers.
Click to expand...

there are various ways of playing hd audio. one of them being using FFDShow Tryouts which can both decode and bitstream hd audio. it's crazy, the beta 7's have been out for a year and still people dont know about them.


nameless_87 said:
But I need 3D which only Nvidia will supply if I understood correctly...

I was originally getting the ATI 5450... however no 3D and HD Audio would be downsampled, unlike the HDAV 1.3 Deluxe which will get 192 Khz without downsampling.

So maybe a combination of GTX460 for 3D and 1080p and HDAV 1.3 Deluxe for HD Audio would be the best solution?

Thanks
Click to expand...

if you can find a bluray with (multi channel) 192khz audio on it then let me know lol. but seriously though, no there is no audio downsampling with the 5 series cards. the 4 series cards had a bitrate limit on on the audio out (6.something Mbit) which puts trueHD and Master Audio out of the question. No such issue with modern ati gpus.



6-series ati cards support 3d bluray by the way, if you are willing to wait for the budget models to be released. infact the 5 series cards also support it, but AMD arent playing ball and wont enable it in the drivers.

I think I can see what is happening here. I have looked at the specs for both the 5000 and 6000 series and can only come to one conclusion:

The 6000 series states MVC GPU acceleration (MVC is the codec for 3D Blu-ray), it also states support for 3D stereoscopic displays/glasses.

The 5000 series however does not mention MVC what so ever, it just mentions support for 3D stereoscopic displays/glasses.

I know, without any doubt that the 5000 series DOES support MVC GPU acceleration because I have it working but only with the Catalyst 10.9 drivers. I personally think that it was accidentally enabled for the 5000 series in the 10.9 drivers, then they disabled it in the following drivers because AMD/ATI has come up with the marketing idea to offer this function only with the 6000 series graphics cards.

It is obvious why AMD has done this. They want us (loyal ATI end users) to dump our very capable 5000 series hardware and rush out to buy the next generation hardware to get MVC GPU acceleration.

Mr AMD, you are overlooking three very important facts here:

1. We (loyal end users of your hardware) are very cleaver individuals with a lot of computer hardware experience. I am an electronics design engineer and a Home Theatre/PC enthusiast and I am sure there are a lot of people like me who use your hardware. You cannot pull the wool over our eyes because the cat(alyst) is out of the bag. The 5000 series can support MVC GPU acceleration when enabled in the driver and it has nothing to do with HDMI 1.3 or 1.4 as mentioned in the previous posts.

Quote from karajzk:
Yes, decoding on the cpu. But my point was that a 5xxx series card with a hdmi 1.3 output can play bluray 3d on a 3D TV with the new 10.10 drivers at 1920x1080@24. Just like a PS3 or a GTX 2xx.



2. There is competition out there. Nvidia have been supporting this format for quite some time now even on their previous generation hardware without HDMI 1.4! It is all very well saying that 3d Blu-ray works with an ATI card but if it is not GPU accelerated, the CPU will become bogged down with the workload, increase in heat (cooling fans running at full speed) and as soon as some minor task comes along, the 3D video will start to skip and freeze making the whole thing pointless.


3. Trying to force us to buy your next generation hardware may force some people to buy from the competition (who are leading in the 3D arena at this moment in time). This is no way that you, Mr AMD, are showing loyalty to us enthusiasts. Most of us enthusiasts will upgrade in the not to distant future anyway, but forcing us will have a negative effect on our loyalty with some of us upgrading with another brand!

If the above statements are not true, then prove me wrong! Enable MVC acceleration in your next driver releases and gain back some of the ground that you have lost to the competition in the 3D arena. The 5000 series graphics cards are still current and very capable cards anyway. Disabling this function in these very capable cards in my opinion is commercial suicide.
Click to expand...

http://forums.amd.com/game/messagev...=136352&STARTPAGE=2&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear. that's the gist of it, anyway. I havent got any 3d capable equipment so i cant test this.
 
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